Advanced Children's Literature: Traditional Tales

Pinkney, Jerry. NOAH’S ARK. New York: SeaStar Books, 2002.

The Senior Mr. Pinkney does not disappoint with this Biblical retelling. His signature style of blended and flowing earth tones is very much apparent but with a tiny and positive addition. Almost every page has a small spot of strikingly vivid color that jumps right off the page and in most every instance that color is lipstick red. From poppies to tomatoes, the butterfly wings on the cover, apples, Noah’s belted sash, the nose of the baboons, a pomegranate, a lobster or a woman’s shawl the technique draws the eye in and causes it to linger. Though the illustrations of all the animals are uncommonly beautiful the numerous close ups and details of the humpback whales and doves approach legendary to this writer. The inside front cover may prompt some very interesting discussions as a wooly mammoth and brachiosaurus are pictured near the top of the spread in much smaller scale than the various other animals that are represented. Pinkney does a superlative job of showing children the enormous amount of work that went into the making of the ark by showing the beams, frame, scaffolding, and towers used to complete the project. The picture in the center of the book is an imaginative likeness of the ark with little else on the spread except sea and sky. The technique is especially effective in illustrating the incredibly long horizontal façade of the ark that Pinkney sees in his mind’s eye. Many pages show details such as board by board, plank by plank pictures and items that would be of special interest to children such as the stalls of the zebra and the giraffe, how the bottom of the ark appeared to the creatures of the deep looking up from below. The use of quotations from Genesis are very effective at the beginning and end of the book when God gives Noah instructions about making the ark, who and what to bring aboard, and the promise that a similar flood will not happen in the future. Pinkney’s text flows smoothly and seamlessly whether one is reading the a paraphrase or a quote. A section of text that is sure to delight children is “The zebras munched their hay. The geese gobbled up the grain. The monkeys nibbled on sweet grapes and climbed to the roof where the sparrows perched and sang.” Pinkney is such a master his words would conjure up beautiful pictures even if one could listen alone and not caress the pictures with ones eyes. Pinkney’s volume is a noteworthy addition to an oft written story.